Coexistence and bistability of a competition model in open advective environments

The community composition in open advective environments, where individuals are exposed to unidirectional flow, is formed by the complex interplays of hydrological and biological factors. We investigate the coexistence mechanism of species by a reaction-diffusion-advection competition model proposed by Lutscher et al. in [19]. It turns out that the locations of two critical curves, which separate the stable region of the semi-trivial solutions from the unstable one, determines whether coexistence or bistability happens. Furthermore, the analytical and numerical results suggest a tradeoff driven coexistence mechanism. More precisely, there is a tradeoff between the dispersal strategy and growth competence which allows the transition of competition outcomes, including competition exclusion, coexistence and bistability. This shifting may have an effect on the community composition in aquatic habitat.